A conservative House lawmaker angry at “a culture of punishment
and fear” created by Speaker John Boehner and his leadership team has had
enough.“For the last six months they have doled out small punishments in a variety
of forms,” said Rep. Mark Meadows of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.

He then reported what
House Reform and Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) was
planning to do:

"The leadership
team wants to create a culture of punishment and fear without a culture of
debate and dialogue. But there is no honor in bowing to a bully. There is only
honor in fighting a good fight—win or lose. This is not a fight I will back
down from.”Meadows, R-N.C., was greeted in his Capitol Hill office last Thursday by
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the House Oversight and Government Reform chairman, and
given a lose-lose choice.

He could resign as chair of the Government Operations subcommittee
or be removed from the role.

“Last week I announced a change in the Government Operations
sub-committee chairmanship.A number of
people have asked me to reconsider that decision.Having spoken with Mark Meadows several times
during the past week, I think we both better understand each other.I respect Mark and his approach.The discussions and candor have been healthy
and productive. Ultimately, I believe we both want to do what is best for the
country.Obviously I believe in Mark
Meadows or I would not have appointed him to this position in the first
place.It is in the best interest of the
Committee to move forward together.Therefore, I have asked Mark to continue in his role as sub-committee
Chairman,” said Chairman Chaffetz.

It is quite interesting that Chairman Chaffetz
refuses to identify who asked him to “reconsider that decision”. The backlash
against the GOP Leadership purge not only erupted within the House, but in
social media, too, with Mark Levin calling Chaffetz “a shrimp” and “a fraud”.

Chaffetz had to admit that his sudden decision to
remove Meadows does not make much sense, since he appointed him to the
sub-committee chairmanship in the first place.

Meadows’ portion of the press release was gracious:

“I greatly appreciate Chairman Jason Chaffetz’ willingness to
reconsider his decision, as well as my Oversight and Government Reform
Committee colleagues’ support. I will continue to vote and conduct myself in
accordance with my conscience, what my constituents want me to do, and what is
best for the country. I look forward to continuing my work as Subcommittee
Chairman of Government Operations under the leadership of the Oversight
Committee Chairman. I know we are both dedicated to conducting real and
meaningful oversight for the American people,” said Congressman Meadows.

The key standout in this release “conduct myself in
accordance with my conscience” is the crucial element, and one major source of
Meadows’s rising frustration with House leadership. House Reps are supposed to
vote for what they believe is right, not just what their leaders want, and yet
conservatives like Meadows along with other House conservatives were targeted
for not getting along to go along.

So, what happened? How did Meadows weather the storm of leadership
disdain bent on removing him from his subcommittee chairmanship?

House Freedom Caucus chairman Jim Jordan just showed he can outfox
top Republicans.

[O]ver the course of a week, Jordan canvassed Republicans
on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, shoring up support for
Meadows (R-N.C.).

Jordan’s guerrilla campaign seemed to work — the majority
of the overwhelmingly conservative committee said they wanted Meadows back.

Wow. Conservatives in
Washington are pushing back against Establishment leadership and winning. While
the Left and liberal interests have had a stellar record organizing their
elements and intimidating their opponents into silent defeat, freedom advocates
and federal conservatives had often found themselves disconnected or thwarted
in their efforts to work together and advance their agenda.

That trend is changing,
not just in the media, but within the Beltway.

This could be a major setback in Boehner’s leadership’s drive
against lawmakers who defy him. GOP leadership have said for several weeks they
were finally ready to crack down on dissenters.

This Congressional session, dissent is
the conservative position, as limited government has faced limitless opposition
from Democrats as well as Republicans. Until now.

Meadow’s reinstatement (or rather, maintenance,
since he was never removed from his sub-com chairmanship) indicate that
conservative pressure from the grassroots, the media, and within the federal
legislature can be effective.